I farted above hunter like 100 times. We're like step brothers.Son of a wrote:My bad. Totally forgot the other S54 car. Apologies to Hunter, who is still in bed, sharing the bunkroom with Alijonny.ldsbeaker wrote:Tsk tsk, it was NINE vehicles. 7 e28s, one M4 coupe, and the beemer.
Adam, glad to hear you made it safely through WV twisties. Have a safe rest of the journey home. It was a real pleasure to have Thor and his hammer join RTT '12.
2012 RTT...
-
rmiddendorf
- Posts: 5568
- Joined: Jul 11, 2010 1:17 PM
- Location: Ohio
- Contact:
Yes. We played liars poker or whatever, ate a KILLER dinner thanks to cousin Billy, drank, hot rubbed, etc...Cactus wrote:Well, I'm back home. Hope you guys found a worthwhile time to spend today.
It sucks that I didn't see you leave man, you zipped away like nothing... As much as I busted your balls, it was great to see you again. You missed some interesting stuff today.
Oooops, forgot to update. Got home at 1230 yesterday afternoon.
(If you're a tl;dr type, I had a blast, car was perfect, and I'm even seriously thinking about swooping from AZ next year)
A newbie's RTT report
Sunday:
After all the revelries and show of the previous two days, we were ready to hit the road! We had a driver's meeting at 0830 to discuss the (ahem) rules, and pass out route maps. Then we took off promptly at 0900. About 45 minutes on the highway, then we dove into the twisties proper. I got to see the S54 e28 and Sherman's M5 disappear over the next hill as they did top speed runs on the highway. Nice. We even managed to lose a couple people on the highway apparently, but they cut us off at the pass. I had just installed the 750 BBK on Wednesday, and had only bled them once, so the brakes were still a little squishy. I didn't push TOO hard, but had decent braking feel for the overall moderate day. Within the first hour of twisties, we (of course) hit a dirt road. It wasn't too long, but apparently, it scared some people off. We got separated a little bit. My car got some dust in the pulleys and was making some noises, but it went away after we got back on the pavement. After we hit a dirt trail so soon, I was kinda concerned that maybe my car was a bit TOO low for this kind of event, but I pressed on. We ended the morning by driving the "Back of The Dragon" which consisted of going over 3 different mountains/hills. Constant switchbacks and climbs/descents. We met up at a gas station where a Beemer local had setup the lunch provided by a local wrestling team trying to fundraise. It was good. They had 100% gas at the station, but only in 87 octane. I got a couple gallons just because I support that kind of thing, and figured that I should have a little extra gas JUST IN CASE.
So, after lunch, we take off and promptly get separated again. Adrian and Cousin Billy hit a HUGE rock with their front driver's tire and a shimmy begins. They pull over and check it out, then we press on to the next town. Just before leaving the town, they pull over and call a tow truck. The car has become undriveable. They suspect a UCAB. I hang with 3 of the lead cars and we go ALL OVER. A couple wrong turns, dead ends, etc. I'm trying to follow along on the route map, but it was hopeless. We weren't even close to the roads we were "supposed" to be on. After a particular dead end, one of the canadians asks Aaron if we can just go to the hotel. He agrees, and we spend a half hour on the interstate to get to the hotel. I look at the route map AGAIN, and get pissed off at the fact that we are so far off that we need a full half hour on the interstate to get to where we were supposed to go. I get more and more worked up thinking that if I hadn't kept up, I would have been left on my own in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I misunderstood all the disclaimers, etc... But I was PISSED. My blood is up from all the hard (ABSOLUTELY GREAT) driving, my allergies are blinding me, and I could have been left for lost. We get to the hotel and I promptly put my asshole hat on and blow up on Aaron and Peter. I get it out of my system, we grind down to an understanding, and we move on. Everyone was SO cool about it. "This happens every year." they tell me. I apologize all around, and they are asking ME if we're cool. Wow. I was so humbled. I was the asshole!
Anyway, they disabled car is on the way, so I get a cold beverage, and ask Peter if he'll help me bleed my brakes before the flatbed gets here. I get some bubbles out, and leave my tools out. Just about the same time we finish, the flatbed shows up, I pull my long reach jack over, jack stands and we get to work. A is working on it, but we can't get the ball joint separated. They're working with framing hammers. I tell them I'm going to get MY hammer. They shrug and I walk off to my car and get Thor. Rest assured, it is the biggest usable hammer you have ever seen. I make short work of the ball joint, then get the bolt out of the bushing and we laugh and point at the grunt's bushing. That thing was literally powder. Meanwhile, we're working with Paul (moosehead) on a solution. He's got it covered, and we set up a plan to have it delivered. Since I don't drink, the guys volunteer me to stay up and get the bushing at zero dark thirty. I happily agree, and we commence to hanging out and dinner. Just as the sun is setting, some of the canadians are telling me that I'm going to drive Sia's car (S54 e28). I didn't put too much stock in it, as it's Sia's car, I think he would be the one with the keys. After I'm done with Thor, and we have the disabled car on a jackstand, I'm getting ready to clean my hands and Sia tries to hand me the keys. Hokay, let me clean my hands! So I get back and a couple guys jump in the car with me and we take off. Oh wait, first I get the brief about "The Red Button". Apparently, it's the ///M button. I get the brief on how to use it and that's it. No words of caution, no don't speed, no keep it below 5 grand, nothing. Have fun!
The car was perfect. So much power! The clutch and shift throw were perfect so I just jumped in and no slip, no stalling, etc. I take off HARD, and we get to the interstate. The exhaust RIPS. We get on the interstate, and I set up for PUSHING THE RED BUTTON. The car "shrugs" after pushing the button, and you can tell it's ready to REALLY go. We blast around for a bit, then get off the highway and go through a tunnel a couple/three times. The other guys are having a ball, the car sounds amazing, and I'm in complete wat mode. We get back on the highway and I start looking around at the car. The AC works (COLD), the temp gauge is un-buffered, etc. It's just a euro e28 with a huge powerful engine. I finally do a high speed run
125 in an e28??!!??, and realize that I'm going to have to hand the keys over and may never get to drive something like this again. I try to soak it in, and enjoy it.
I get back, hand the keys over, and we talk about the car some. I ask if he's interested in driving my car, since it's got all the suspension stuff. He says yes, but we'll do it later.
Cousin Billy serves dinner (shrimp salad, chicken salad sandwiches), and we talk and hang out. I go for a nap around 1030, then we take off about 0100 for a town a few miles away. They offer any car in the parking lot for me to drive. I say I want to drive an M5, and Rodney volunteers, as long as he can supervise. It was fun, and a very tight car. I offered my opinion on his shift throw, but other than that, the car was fast and solid. (I definitely prefer the M5 over the M6 I have driven) I think he bought the right one. Sherman wants to come along, but he drives his own car so we have 2 M5s blasting around in virginia in the middle of the night. We get the part, and I think I end up in bed at 0330.
So, I drove some great roads, had the right tools, drove some epic cars, acted like an asshole, was forgiven, and got to help out some people in need. A great day.
Monday:
I meet with Bill and Michelle (driving the Supercharged S50 e28), and we decide to leave about 15 minutes early and go on our own. Michelle will be navigating, and I'll be trying to keep up with the HP monster. We have a GREAT time and they didn't have to slow down TOO much for me. Mostly on uphills, etc. We did hours of singletrack/lane and a half roads with no guardrails, lines, or traffic. Awesome. Those bubbles that we bled were really holding the brakes back. I hammer the brakes all day, and they just take it. We cross over into WV, and are getting close to our "midway" stop, and the directions get a little hazy. We tool around a bit, meet some locals, and decide to hang out at Panther State Park to wait for the rest of the group. I break out my peanut butter and jelly, we all share snacks, and hang out. The bugs love us. Since there's only the two cars, it's so easy to decide what to do, and we decide that we'll get out of nowhere and find the bigger roads. We kept expecting people to show up on our tail, but it wasn't till we were heading back to the interstate that we found a couple e28s in front of us. We then pulled into a gas station where most of the group was. Nice! We all take off for the Resort/Casino where we are booked. I don't think any of us finished the "route" that day, but the first half was pretty dang awesome. WV is just beautiful.
We get cleaned up and decide to eat at the "First Turn" restaurant. It's got an excellent view of the greyhound track, so we watch about 5 or 6 races and just yak and have some food. I pay cash for my dinner, and we're walking through the casino to our rooms when I realize that I'm broke. I had reached into my OTHER pocket for my big stash of cash, and it was gone. It was well over $200, and all of a sudden I remember the night before when I'm getting ready to roll around on the deck for the disabled car and I take the envelope with my cash in it and put it under the phone at the hotel. DOH!! We pray about it and call the night manager at the hotel. She says she'll do her best and leave a note for the day manager and housekeeping. I go ahead and write it off as gone. Not that I have money falling out of my ass, but what can I do? We go to bed relatively early.
Monday:
We all get some breakfast. People are getting a late start as the casino was VERY alluring. After I eat, Sherman hands me his phone, and it's the hotel manager from TN. She says that they found the envelope right where I left it, and all of the money was in there! $270!! Wow, man. Prayers are answered. Bill and Michelle are breaking off today and headed back to that exit, so they agree to pick up the cash. Matter of fact, they just write me a check for the total amount and agree to just keep the cash! I love these guys! We say goodbye, a fills up the diff in the 533i, and we all get going. There are only 9 vehicles left for the jaunt to our final destination. We take off and have to ride through some towns. We're keeping together pretty well, and even look so awesome that we cause a 3 car accident. oops. Long story, but the cars should have been looking at what the hell they were doing. Today, I'm navigating pretty well. We get to our halfway stop, have some food, and the sky starts getting dark. I check the radar, and we have a line of red approaching. It's gonna be a boomer. It's gonna shit potatoes. Pick your aphorism, but it's not gonna be nice. Everyone else is pretty cool about it, but I'm dreading it. My car is so stiff it handles like freaking garbage in the rain. I have yet to learn how to set it up to run "right" in the rain. It's gonna be slow going for me if it rains hard/the roads are wet. I also was having trouble with my wipers again. Last year, the passenger wiper got caught on the driver's wiper and broke the mechanism. I got a new one from a board member, but somehow it was broken IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT. I JB welded the new one, and I had wipers again! Yesss! Then, as I used the wipers, the passenger one was ummm slipping a bit, and threatening to get tied up in the driver's one again, so I went ahead and pulled the wiper. turns out the splines on the actual wiper arm are trashed. Now why didn't I see that??
Anyway, we take off, and everyone promptly leaves me in the dust. I have the bike and the 533i behind me. I'm taking it super easy when it's raining/wet, and they keep up just fine. Then when it's dry, I get my twisty on, and leave them. This goes off and on all afternoon. We finally climb the mountain to our hotel stop and we have the place literally all to ourselves. The canadians got condos, and Sherman and I were sharing a room in a building all by ourselves. Hilarious. We clean up and go over to the condos to hang out and eat. Just before dinner, the sun is still up, and it's dried out some. I hand the keys to Sia, and he goes up and down the mountain in RECORD time. He says the car has got "potential". I take that as saying that I still have a LOT of work to be done. And I do. Billy dazzles again, and we eat well. We BS, drink, eat, sit in the hot tub, bench race, etc. A great time. I say goodnight and goodbye to everyone and almost promise to be out next year. Aaron is gracious and says that I am more than welcome and gives me a few hints about ideas for next year.
Tuesday:
I take off at 0630, and have about 100 miles of twisties ALL TO MYSELF to get out of BFE, WV. It's great. I take some of my favorite roads on the way back and get back just in time to hang out with the wife and kids.
~1400 miles
no car problems
no bottoming out/scraping/rubbing despite some wicked elevation changes, turns, rough roads, etc.
BBK on vacuum boost was perfect
I feel more confident behind the wheel of my own car
... and everyone seemed to get a kick out of my car.
The perfect vacation.
(If you're a tl;dr type, I had a blast, car was perfect, and I'm even seriously thinking about swooping from AZ next year)
A newbie's RTT report
Sunday:
After all the revelries and show of the previous two days, we were ready to hit the road! We had a driver's meeting at 0830 to discuss the (ahem) rules, and pass out route maps. Then we took off promptly at 0900. About 45 minutes on the highway, then we dove into the twisties proper. I got to see the S54 e28 and Sherman's M5 disappear over the next hill as they did top speed runs on the highway. Nice. We even managed to lose a couple people on the highway apparently, but they cut us off at the pass. I had just installed the 750 BBK on Wednesday, and had only bled them once, so the brakes were still a little squishy. I didn't push TOO hard, but had decent braking feel for the overall moderate day. Within the first hour of twisties, we (of course) hit a dirt road. It wasn't too long, but apparently, it scared some people off. We got separated a little bit. My car got some dust in the pulleys and was making some noises, but it went away after we got back on the pavement. After we hit a dirt trail so soon, I was kinda concerned that maybe my car was a bit TOO low for this kind of event, but I pressed on. We ended the morning by driving the "Back of The Dragon" which consisted of going over 3 different mountains/hills. Constant switchbacks and climbs/descents. We met up at a gas station where a Beemer local had setup the lunch provided by a local wrestling team trying to fundraise. It was good. They had 100% gas at the station, but only in 87 octane. I got a couple gallons just because I support that kind of thing, and figured that I should have a little extra gas JUST IN CASE.
So, after lunch, we take off and promptly get separated again. Adrian and Cousin Billy hit a HUGE rock with their front driver's tire and a shimmy begins. They pull over and check it out, then we press on to the next town. Just before leaving the town, they pull over and call a tow truck. The car has become undriveable. They suspect a UCAB. I hang with 3 of the lead cars and we go ALL OVER. A couple wrong turns, dead ends, etc. I'm trying to follow along on the route map, but it was hopeless. We weren't even close to the roads we were "supposed" to be on. After a particular dead end, one of the canadians asks Aaron if we can just go to the hotel. He agrees, and we spend a half hour on the interstate to get to the hotel. I look at the route map AGAIN, and get pissed off at the fact that we are so far off that we need a full half hour on the interstate to get to where we were supposed to go. I get more and more worked up thinking that if I hadn't kept up, I would have been left on my own in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I misunderstood all the disclaimers, etc... But I was PISSED. My blood is up from all the hard (ABSOLUTELY GREAT) driving, my allergies are blinding me, and I could have been left for lost. We get to the hotel and I promptly put my asshole hat on and blow up on Aaron and Peter. I get it out of my system, we grind down to an understanding, and we move on. Everyone was SO cool about it. "This happens every year." they tell me. I apologize all around, and they are asking ME if we're cool. Wow. I was so humbled. I was the asshole!
Anyway, they disabled car is on the way, so I get a cold beverage, and ask Peter if he'll help me bleed my brakes before the flatbed gets here. I get some bubbles out, and leave my tools out. Just about the same time we finish, the flatbed shows up, I pull my long reach jack over, jack stands and we get to work. A is working on it, but we can't get the ball joint separated. They're working with framing hammers. I tell them I'm going to get MY hammer. They shrug and I walk off to my car and get Thor. Rest assured, it is the biggest usable hammer you have ever seen. I make short work of the ball joint, then get the bolt out of the bushing and we laugh and point at the grunt's bushing. That thing was literally powder. Meanwhile, we're working with Paul (moosehead) on a solution. He's got it covered, and we set up a plan to have it delivered. Since I don't drink, the guys volunteer me to stay up and get the bushing at zero dark thirty. I happily agree, and we commence to hanging out and dinner. Just as the sun is setting, some of the canadians are telling me that I'm going to drive Sia's car (S54 e28). I didn't put too much stock in it, as it's Sia's car, I think he would be the one with the keys. After I'm done with Thor, and we have the disabled car on a jackstand, I'm getting ready to clean my hands and Sia tries to hand me the keys. Hokay, let me clean my hands! So I get back and a couple guys jump in the car with me and we take off. Oh wait, first I get the brief about "The Red Button". Apparently, it's the ///M button. I get the brief on how to use it and that's it. No words of caution, no don't speed, no keep it below 5 grand, nothing. Have fun!
The car was perfect. So much power! The clutch and shift throw were perfect so I just jumped in and no slip, no stalling, etc. I take off HARD, and we get to the interstate. The exhaust RIPS. We get on the interstate, and I set up for PUSHING THE RED BUTTON. The car "shrugs" after pushing the button, and you can tell it's ready to REALLY go. We blast around for a bit, then get off the highway and go through a tunnel a couple/three times. The other guys are having a ball, the car sounds amazing, and I'm in complete wat mode. We get back on the highway and I start looking around at the car. The AC works (COLD), the temp gauge is un-buffered, etc. It's just a euro e28 with a huge powerful engine. I finally do a high speed run
125 in an e28??!!??, and realize that I'm going to have to hand the keys over and may never get to drive something like this again. I try to soak it in, and enjoy it.
I get back, hand the keys over, and we talk about the car some. I ask if he's interested in driving my car, since it's got all the suspension stuff. He says yes, but we'll do it later.
Cousin Billy serves dinner (shrimp salad, chicken salad sandwiches), and we talk and hang out. I go for a nap around 1030, then we take off about 0100 for a town a few miles away. They offer any car in the parking lot for me to drive. I say I want to drive an M5, and Rodney volunteers, as long as he can supervise. It was fun, and a very tight car. I offered my opinion on his shift throw, but other than that, the car was fast and solid. (I definitely prefer the M5 over the M6 I have driven) I think he bought the right one. Sherman wants to come along, but he drives his own car so we have 2 M5s blasting around in virginia in the middle of the night. We get the part, and I think I end up in bed at 0330.
So, I drove some great roads, had the right tools, drove some epic cars, acted like an asshole, was forgiven, and got to help out some people in need. A great day.
Monday:
I meet with Bill and Michelle (driving the Supercharged S50 e28), and we decide to leave about 15 minutes early and go on our own. Michelle will be navigating, and I'll be trying to keep up with the HP monster. We have a GREAT time and they didn't have to slow down TOO much for me. Mostly on uphills, etc. We did hours of singletrack/lane and a half roads with no guardrails, lines, or traffic. Awesome. Those bubbles that we bled were really holding the brakes back. I hammer the brakes all day, and they just take it. We cross over into WV, and are getting close to our "midway" stop, and the directions get a little hazy. We tool around a bit, meet some locals, and decide to hang out at Panther State Park to wait for the rest of the group. I break out my peanut butter and jelly, we all share snacks, and hang out. The bugs love us. Since there's only the two cars, it's so easy to decide what to do, and we decide that we'll get out of nowhere and find the bigger roads. We kept expecting people to show up on our tail, but it wasn't till we were heading back to the interstate that we found a couple e28s in front of us. We then pulled into a gas station where most of the group was. Nice! We all take off for the Resort/Casino where we are booked. I don't think any of us finished the "route" that day, but the first half was pretty dang awesome. WV is just beautiful.
We get cleaned up and decide to eat at the "First Turn" restaurant. It's got an excellent view of the greyhound track, so we watch about 5 or 6 races and just yak and have some food. I pay cash for my dinner, and we're walking through the casino to our rooms when I realize that I'm broke. I had reached into my OTHER pocket for my big stash of cash, and it was gone. It was well over $200, and all of a sudden I remember the night before when I'm getting ready to roll around on the deck for the disabled car and I take the envelope with my cash in it and put it under the phone at the hotel. DOH!! We pray about it and call the night manager at the hotel. She says she'll do her best and leave a note for the day manager and housekeeping. I go ahead and write it off as gone. Not that I have money falling out of my ass, but what can I do? We go to bed relatively early.
Monday:
We all get some breakfast. People are getting a late start as the casino was VERY alluring. After I eat, Sherman hands me his phone, and it's the hotel manager from TN. She says that they found the envelope right where I left it, and all of the money was in there! $270!! Wow, man. Prayers are answered. Bill and Michelle are breaking off today and headed back to that exit, so they agree to pick up the cash. Matter of fact, they just write me a check for the total amount and agree to just keep the cash! I love these guys! We say goodbye, a fills up the diff in the 533i, and we all get going. There are only 9 vehicles left for the jaunt to our final destination. We take off and have to ride through some towns. We're keeping together pretty well, and even look so awesome that we cause a 3 car accident. oops. Long story, but the cars should have been looking at what the hell they were doing. Today, I'm navigating pretty well. We get to our halfway stop, have some food, and the sky starts getting dark. I check the radar, and we have a line of red approaching. It's gonna be a boomer. It's gonna shit potatoes. Pick your aphorism, but it's not gonna be nice. Everyone else is pretty cool about it, but I'm dreading it. My car is so stiff it handles like freaking garbage in the rain. I have yet to learn how to set it up to run "right" in the rain. It's gonna be slow going for me if it rains hard/the roads are wet. I also was having trouble with my wipers again. Last year, the passenger wiper got caught on the driver's wiper and broke the mechanism. I got a new one from a board member, but somehow it was broken IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT. I JB welded the new one, and I had wipers again! Yesss! Then, as I used the wipers, the passenger one was ummm slipping a bit, and threatening to get tied up in the driver's one again, so I went ahead and pulled the wiper. turns out the splines on the actual wiper arm are trashed. Now why didn't I see that??
Anyway, we take off, and everyone promptly leaves me in the dust. I have the bike and the 533i behind me. I'm taking it super easy when it's raining/wet, and they keep up just fine. Then when it's dry, I get my twisty on, and leave them. This goes off and on all afternoon. We finally climb the mountain to our hotel stop and we have the place literally all to ourselves. The canadians got condos, and Sherman and I were sharing a room in a building all by ourselves. Hilarious. We clean up and go over to the condos to hang out and eat. Just before dinner, the sun is still up, and it's dried out some. I hand the keys to Sia, and he goes up and down the mountain in RECORD time. He says the car has got "potential". I take that as saying that I still have a LOT of work to be done. And I do. Billy dazzles again, and we eat well. We BS, drink, eat, sit in the hot tub, bench race, etc. A great time. I say goodnight and goodbye to everyone and almost promise to be out next year. Aaron is gracious and says that I am more than welcome and gives me a few hints about ideas for next year.
Tuesday:
I take off at 0630, and have about 100 miles of twisties ALL TO MYSELF to get out of BFE, WV. It's great. I take some of my favorite roads on the way back and get back just in time to hang out with the wife and kids.
~1400 miles
no car problems
no bottoming out/scraping/rubbing despite some wicked elevation changes, turns, rough roads, etc.
BBK on vacuum boost was perfect
I feel more confident behind the wheel of my own car
... and everyone seemed to get a kick out of my car.
The perfect vacation.
Last edited by ldsbeaker on May 31, 2012 11:20 AM, edited 1 time in total.
-
rmiddendorf
- Posts: 5568
- Joined: Jul 11, 2010 1:17 PM
- Location: Ohio
- Contact:
Made it to Lexington yesterday without incident and left late this afternoon headed back towards Tejas.
We're spending the night in Alcoa, TN with the plan to surprise my wife with the first leg of tomorrows' drive,
with her behind the wheel of the ///M as we cross the Tail.
She went over it in 2010, but as the navigator in our E12.
I'll report back...
We're spending the night in Alcoa, TN with the plan to surprise my wife with the first leg of tomorrows' drive,
with her behind the wheel of the ///M as we cross the Tail.
She went over it in 2010, but as the navigator in our E12.I'll report back...
Will read again and again and again! Thanks for putting that down. Feels like I was there.ldsbeaker wrote:Oooops, forgot to update. Got home at 1230 yesterday afternoon.
(If you're a tl;dr type, I had a blast, car was perfect, and I'm even seriously thinking about swooping from AZ next year)
A newbie's RTT report
Sunday:
After all the revelries and show of the previous two days, we were ready to hit the road! We had a driver's meeting at 0830 to discuss the (ahem) rules, and pass out route maps. Then we took off promptly at 0900. About 45 minutes on the highway, then we dove into the twisties proper. I got to see the S54 e28 and Sherman's M5 disappear over the next hill as they did top speed runs on the highway. Nice. We even managed to lose a couple people on the highway apparently, but they cut us off at the pass. I had just installed the 750 BBK on Wednesday, and had only bled them once, so the brakes were still a little squishy. I didn't push TOO hard, but had decent braking feel for the overall moderate day. Within the first hour of twisties, we (of course) hit a dirt road. It wasn't too long, but apparently, it scared some people off. We got separated a little bit. My car got some dust in the pulleys and was making some noises, but it went away after we got back on the pavement. After we hit a dirt trail so soon, I was kinda concerned that maybe my car was a bit TOO low for this kind of event, but I pressed on. We ended the morning by driving the "Back of The Dragon" which consisted of going over 3 different mountains/hills. Constant switchbacks and climbs/descents. We met up at a gas station where a Beemer local had setup the lunch provided by a local wrestling team trying to fundraise. It was good. They had 100% gas at the station, but only in 87 octane. I got a couple gallons just because I support that kind of thing, and figured that I should have a little extra gas JUST IN CASE.
So, after lunch, we take off and promptly get separated again. Adrian and Cousin Billy hit a HUGE rock with their front driver's tire and a shimmy begins. They pull over and check it out, then we press on to the next town. Just before leaving the town, they pull over and call a tow truck. The car has become undriveable. They suspect a UCAB. I hang with 3 of the lead cars and we go ALL OVER. A couple wrong turns, dead ends, etc. I'm trying to follow along on the route map, but it was hopeless. We weren't even close to the roads we were "supposed" to be on. After a particular dead end, one of the canadians asks Aaron if we can just go to the hotel. He agrees, and we spend a half hour on the interstate to get to the hotel. I look at the route map AGAIN, and get pissed off at the fact that we are so far off that we need a full half hour on the interstate to get to where we were supposed to go. I get more and more worked up thinking that if I hadn't kept up, I would have been left on my own in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I misunderstood all the disclaimers, etc... But I was PISSED. My blood is up from all the hard (ABSOLUTELY GREAT) driving, my allergies are blinding me, and I could have been left for lost. We get to the hotel and I promptly put my asshole hat on and blow up on Aaron and Peter. I get it out of my system, we grind down to an understanding, and we move on. Everyone was SO cool about it. "This happens every year." they tell me. I apologize all around, and they are asking ME if we're cool. Wow. I was so humbled. I was the asshole!
anyway, they disabled car is on the way, so I get a cold beverage, and ask Peter if he'll help me bleed my brakes before the flatbed gets here. I get some bubbles out, and leave my tools out. Just about the same time we finish, the flatbed shows up, I pull my long reach jack over, jack stands and we get to work. A is working on it, but we can't get the ball joint separated. They're working with framing hammers. I tell them I'm going to get MY hammer. They shrug and I walk off to my car and get Thor. Rest assured, it is the biggest usable hammer you have ever seen. I make short work of the ball joint, then get the bolt out of the bushing and we laugh and point at the grunt's bushing. That thing was literally powder. Meanwhile, we're working with Paul (moosehead) on a solution. He's got it covered, and we set up a plan to have it delivered. Since I don't drink, the guys volunteer me to stay up and get the bushing at zero dark thirty. I happily agree, and we commence to hanging out and dinner. Just as the sun is setting, some of the canadians are telling me that I'm going to drive Sia's car (S54 e28). I didn't put too much stock in it, as it's Sia's car, I think he would be the one with the keys. After I'm done with Thor, and we have the disabled car on a jackstand, I'm getting ready to clean my hands and Sia tries to hand me the keys. Hokay, let me clean my hands! So I get back and a couple guys jump in the car with me and we take off. Oh wait, first I get the brief about "The Red Button". Apparently, it's the ///M button. I get the brief on how to use it and that's it. No words of caution, no don't speed, no keep it below 5 grand, nothing. Have fun!
The car was perfect. So much power! The clutch and shift throw were perfect so I just jumped in and no slip, no stalling, etc. I take off HARD, and we get to the interstate. The exhaust RIPS. We get on the interstate, and I set up for PUSHING THE RED BUTTON. The car "shrugs" after pushing the button, and you can tell it's ready to REALLY go. We blast around for a bit, then get off the highway and go through a tunnel a couple/three times. The other guys are having a ball, the car sounds amazing, and I'm in complete wat mode. We get back on the highway and I start looking around at the car. The AC works (COLD), the temp gauge is un-buffered, etc. It's just a euro e28 with a huge powerful engine. I finally do a high speed run
125 in an e28??!!??, and realize that I'm going to have to hand the keys over and may never get to drive something like this again. I try to soak it in, and enjoy it.
I get back, hand the keys over, and we talk about the car some. I ask if he's interested in driving my car, since it's got all the suspension stuff. He says yes, but we'll do it later.
Cousin Billy serves dinner (shrimp salad, chicken salad sandwiches), and we talk and hang out. I go for a nap around 1030, then we take off about 0100 for a town a few miles away. They offer any car in the parking lot for me to drive. I say I want to drive an M5, and Rodney volunteers, as long as he can supervise. It was fun, and a very tight car. I offered my opinion on his shift throw, but other than that, the car was fast and solid. (I definitely prefer the M5 over the M6 I have driven) I think he bought the right one. Sherman wants to come along, but he drives his own car so we have 2 M5s blasting around in virginia in the middle of the night. We get the part, and I think I end up in bed at 0330.
So, I drove some great roads, had the right tools, drove some epic cars, acted like an asshole, was forgiven, and got to help out some people in need. A great day.
Monday:
I meet with Bill and Michelle (driving the Supercharged S50 e28), and we decide to leave about 15 minutes early and go on our own. Michelle will be navigating, and I'll be trying to keep up with the HP monster. We have a GREAT time and they didn't have to slow down TOO much for me. Mostly on uphills, etc. We did hours of singletrack/lane and a half roads with no guardrails, lines, or traffic. Awesome. Those bubbles that we bled were really holding the brakes back. I hammer the brakes all day, and they just take it. We cross over into WV, and are getting close to our "midway" stop, and the directions get a little hazy. We tool around a bit, meet some locals, and decide to hang out at Panther State Park to wait for the rest of the group. I break out my peanut butter and jelly, we all share snacks, and hang out. The bugs love us. Since there's only the two cars, it's so easy to decide what to do, and we decide that we'll get out of nowhere and find the bigger roads. We kept expecting people to show up on our tail, but it wasn't till we were heading back to the interstate that we found a couple e28s in front of us. We then pulled into a gas station where most of the group was. Nice! We all take off for the Resort/Casino where we are booked. I don't think any of us finished the "route" that day, but the first half was pretty dang awesome. WV is just beautiful.
We get cleaned up and decide to eat at the "First Turn" restaurant. It's got an excellent view of the greyhound track, so we watch about 5 or 6 races and just yak and have some food. I pay cash for my dinner, and we're walking through the casino to our rooms when I realize that I'm broke. I had reached into my OTHER pocket for my big stash of cash, and it was gone. It was well over $200, and all of a sudden I remember the night before when I'm getting ready to roll around on the deck for the disabled car and I take the envelope with my cash in it and put it under the phone at the hotel. DOH!! We pray about it and call the night manager at the hotel. She says she'll do her best and leave a note for the day manager and housekeeping. I go ahead and write it off as gone. Not that I have money falling out of my ass, but what can I do? We go to bed relatively early.
Monday:
We all get some breakfast. People are getting a late start as the casino was VERY alluring. After I eat, Sherman hands me his phone, and it's the hotel manager from TN. She says that they found the envelope right where I left it, and all of the money was in there! $270!! Wow, man. Prayers are answered. Bill and Michelle are breaking off today and headed back to that exit, so they agree to pick up the cash. Matter of fact, they just write me a check for the total amount and agree to just keep the cash! I love these guys! We say goodbye, a fills up the diff in the 533i, and we all get going. There are only 9 vehicles left for the jaunt to our final destination. We take off and have to ride through some towns. We're keeping together pretty well, and even look so awesome that we cause a 3 car accident. oops. Long story, but the cars should have been looking at what the hell they were doing. Today, I'm navigating pretty well. We get to our halfway stop, have some food, and the sky starts getting dark. I check the radar, and we have a line of red approaching. It's gonna be a boomer. It's gonna shit potatoes. Pick your aphorism, but it's not gonna be nice. Everyone else is pretty cool about it, but I'm dreading it. My car is so stiff it handles like freaking garbage in the rain. I have yet to learn how to set it up to run "right" in the rain. It's gonna be slow going for me if it rains hard/the roads are wet. I also was having trouble with my wipers again. Last year, the passenger wiper got caught on the driver's wiper and broke the mechanism. I got a new one from a board member, but somehow it was broken IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT. I JB welded the new one, and I had wipers again! Yesss! Then, as I used the wipers, the passenger one was ummm slipping a bit, and threatening to get tied up in the driver's one again, so I went ahead and pulled the wiper. turns out the splines on the actual wiper arm are trashed. Now why didn't I see that??
anyway, we take off, and everyone promptly leaves me in the dust. I have the bike and the 533i behind me. I'm taking it super easy when it's raining/wet, and they keep up just fine. Then when it's dry, I get my twisty on, and leave them. This goes off and on all afternoon. We finally climb the mountain to our hotel stop and we have the place literally all to ourselves. The canadians got condos, and Sherman and I were sharing a room in a building all by ourselves. Hilarious. We clean up and go over to the condos to hang out and eat. Just before dinner, the sun is still up, and it's dried out some. I hand the keys to Sia, and he goes up and down the mountain in RECORD time. He says the car has got "potential". I take that as saying that I still have a LOT of work to be done. And I do. Billy dazzles again, and we eat well. We BS, drink, eat, sit in the hot tub, bench race, etc. A great time. I say goodnight and goodbye to everyone and almost promise to be out next year. Aaron is gracious and says that I am more than welcome and gives me a few hints about ideas for next year.
Tuesday:
I take off at 0630, and have about 100 miles of twisties ALL TO MYSELF to get out of BFE, WV. It's great. I take some of my favorite roads on the way back and get back just in time to hang out with the wife and kids.
~1400 miles
no car problems
no bottoming out/scraping/rubbing despite some wicked elevation changes, turns, rough roads, etc.
BBK on vacuum boost was perfect
I feel more confident behind the wheel of my own car
... and everyone seemed to get a kick out of my car.
The perfect vacation.
Hey folks, I managed to make my way to Sandusky, Ohio before I hit rain and called it a night here at the Hampton...
I went northeast thru a bit of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and of course Ohio.
I had beyond a great time, and hope I didn't act too immature for the crowd... I should have more to write later, but thanks to everyone who put up with me.
I went northeast thru a bit of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and of course Ohio.
I had beyond a great time, and hope I didn't act too immature for the crowd... I should have more to write later, but thanks to everyone who put up with me.
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rmiddendorf
- Posts: 5568
- Joined: Jul 11, 2010 1:17 PM
- Location: Ohio
- Contact:
Dude you're welcome anytime. And your not any more immature than the rest of us... Hope to see you soon bro!alijonny wrote:Hey folks, I managed to make my way to Sandusky, Ohio before I hit rain and called it a night here at the Hampton...
I went northeast thru a bit of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and of course Ohio.
I had beyond a great time, and hope I didn't act too immature for the crowd... I should have more to write later, but thanks to everyone who put up with me.
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rmiddendorf
- Posts: 5568
- Joined: Jul 11, 2010 1:17 PM
- Location: Ohio
- Contact:
RTT
It is nice to read all the posts as people are returning back home. Michelle and I got home last night around 5 pm. . It was a great drive, a great week. We had so much fun. I think the best drive was Monday when Adam and I broke away and ran through the twisties together. We didn't always feel like we knew where we were but getting there is half the adventure. At the end of the day we stumbled on to the rest of the group so things worked out just perfect. We could have been 10 minutes apart all day long and not known it. There are several roads that are labeled "The Crooked Road". They are very scenic and twistie. Aaron did a great job putting all this together. I can't imagine how much work it is to research all these roads and get the directions down on paper. Thanks Aaron you did a fantastic job. I am sure we will be going again next year. We need to keep this adventure to ourselves and not share it with to many people. It's only going to get complicated the more people that join in. The car ran great. That engine/drive train seems to be bullet proof. I can beat on it all day long and it is always ready to give me more. The 2.93 gear I ran gave me great fuel mileage. I got 33 mpg on interstate @ 70 mph going to Vintage. We were able to see some good old friends and met a lot of new ones. We are looking forward to May 2013. Michelle wants to follow me in her 524td to Vintage next year. We didn't see one 524td at the event. If someone had one there let me know. See everyone next year.
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Mark in Toronto
- Posts: 2442
- Joined: Feb 14, 2008 7:28 PM
- Location: Toronto
Adam,ldsbeaker wrote:Oooops, forgot to update. Got home at 1230 yesterday afternoon.
(If you're a tl;dr type, I had a blast, car was perfect, and I'm even seriously thinking about swooping from AZ next year)
A newbie's RTT report
Sunday:
After all the revelries and show of the previous two days, we were ready to hit the road! We had a driver's meeting at 0830 to discuss the (ahem) rules, and pass out route maps. Then we took off promptly at 0900. About 45 minutes on the highway, then we dove into the twisties proper. I got to see the S54 e28 and Sherman's M5 disappear over the next hill as they did top speed runs on the highway. Nice. We even managed to lose a couple people on the highway apparently, but they cut us off at the pass. I had just installed the 750 BBK on Wednesday, and had only bled them once, so the brakes were still a little squishy. I didn't push TOO hard, but had decent braking feel for the overall moderate day. Within the first hour of twisties, we (of course) hit a dirt road. It wasn't too long, but apparently, it scared some people off. We got separated a little bit. My car got some dust in the pulleys and was making some noises, but it went away after we got back on the pavement. After we hit a dirt trail so soon, I was kinda concerned that maybe my car was a bit TOO low for this kind of event, but I pressed on. We ended the morning by driving the "Back of The Dragon" which consisted of going over 3 different mountains/hills. Constant switchbacks and climbs/descents. We met up at a gas station where a Beemer local had setup the lunch provided by a local wrestling team trying to fundraise. It was good. They had 100% gas at the station, but only in 87 octane. I got a couple gallons just because I support that kind of thing, and figured that I should have a little extra gas JUST IN CASE.
So, after lunch, we take off and promptly get separated again. Adrian and Cousin Billy hit a HUGE rock with their front driver's tire and a shimmy begins. They pull over and check it out, then we press on to the next town. Just before leaving the town, they pull over and call a tow truck. The car has become undriveable. They suspect a UCAB. I hang with 3 of the lead cars and we go ALL OVER. A couple wrong turns, dead ends, etc. I'm trying to follow along on the route map, but it was hopeless. We weren't even close to the roads we were "supposed" to be on. After a particular dead end, one of the canadians asks Aaron if we can just go to the hotel. He agrees, and we spend a half hour on the interstate to get to the hotel. I look at the route map AGAIN, and get pissed off at the fact that we are so far off that we need a full half hour on the interstate to get to where we were supposed to go. I get more and more worked up thinking that if I hadn't kept up, I would have been left on my own in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I misunderstood all the disclaimers, etc... But I was PISSED. My blood is up from all the hard (ABSOLUTELY GREAT) driving, my allergies are blinding me, and I could have been left for lost. We get to the hotel and I promptly put my asshole hat on and blow up on Aaron and Peter. I get it out of my system, we grind down to an understanding, and we move on. Everyone was SO cool about it. "This happens every year." they tell me. I apologize all around, and they are asking ME if we're cool. Wow. I was so humbled. I was the asshole!
anyway, they disabled car is on the way, so I get a cold beverage, and ask Peter if he'll help me bleed my brakes before the flatbed gets here. I get some bubbles out, and leave my tools out. Just about the same time we finish, the flatbed shows up, I pull my long reach jack over, jack stands and we get to work. A is working on it, but we can't get the ball joint separated. They're working with framing hammers. I tell them I'm going to get MY hammer. They shrug and I walk off to my car and get Thor. Rest assured, it is the biggest usable hammer you have ever seen. I make short work of the ball joint, then get the bolt out of the bushing and we laugh and point at the grunt's bushing. That thing was literally powder. Meanwhile, we're working with Paul (moosehead) on a solution. He's got it covered, and we set up a plan to have it delivered. Since I don't drink, the guys volunteer me to stay up and get the bushing at zero dark thirty. I happily agree, and we commence to hanging out and dinner. Just as the sun is setting, some of the canadians are telling me that I'm going to drive Sia's car (S54 e28). I didn't put too much stock in it, as it's Sia's car, I think he would be the one with the keys. After I'm done with Thor, and we have the disabled car on a jackstand, I'm getting ready to clean my hands and Sia tries to hand me the keys. Hokay, let me clean my hands! So I get back and a couple guys jump in the car with me and we take off. Oh wait, first I get the brief about "The Red Button". Apparently, it's the ///M button. I get the brief on how to use it and that's it. No words of caution, no don't speed, no keep it below 5 grand, nothing. Have fun!
The car was perfect. So much power! The clutch and shift throw were perfect so I just jumped in and no slip, no stalling, etc. I take off HARD, and we get to the interstate. The exhaust RIPS. We get on the interstate, and I set up for PUSHING THE RED BUTTON. The car "shrugs" after pushing the button, and you can tell it's ready to REALLY go. We blast around for a bit, then get off the highway and go through a tunnel a couple/three times. The other guys are having a ball, the car sounds amazing, and I'm in complete wat mode. We get back on the highway and I start looking around at the car. The AC works (COLD), the temp gauge is un-buffered, etc. It's just a euro e28 with a huge powerful engine. I finally do a high speed run
125 in an e28??!!??, and realize that I'm going to have to hand the keys over and may never get to drive something like this again. I try to soak it in, and enjoy it.
I get back, hand the keys over, and we talk about the car some. I ask if he's interested in driving my car, since it's got all the suspension stuff. He says yes, but we'll do it later.
Cousin Billy serves dinner (shrimp salad, chicken salad sandwiches), and we talk and hang out. I go for a nap around 1030, then we take off about 0100 for a town a few miles away. They offer any car in the parking lot for me to drive. I say I want to drive an M5, and Rodney volunteers, as long as he can supervise. It was fun, and a very tight car. I offered my opinion on his shift throw, but other than that, the car was fast and solid. (I definitely prefer the M5 over the M6 I have driven) I think he bought the right one. Sherman wants to come along, but he drives his own car so we have 2 M5s blasting around in virginia in the middle of the night. We get the part, and I think I end up in bed at 0330.
So, I drove some great roads, had the right tools, drove some epic cars, acted like an asshole, was forgiven, and got to help out some people in need. A great day.
Monday:
I meet with Bill and Michelle (driving the Supercharged S50 e28), and we decide to leave about 15 minutes early and go on our own. Michelle will be navigating, and I'll be trying to keep up with the HP monster. We have a GREAT time and they didn't have to slow down TOO much for me. Mostly on uphills, etc. We did hours of singletrack/lane and a half roads with no guardrails, lines, or traffic. Awesome. Those bubbles that we bled were really holding the brakes back. I hammer the brakes all day, and they just take it. We cross over into WV, and are getting close to our "midway" stop, and the directions get a little hazy. We tool around a bit, meet some locals, and decide to hang out at Panther State Park to wait for the rest of the group. I break out my peanut butter and jelly, we all share snacks, and hang out. The bugs love us. Since there's only the two cars, it's so easy to decide what to do, and we decide that we'll get out of nowhere and find the bigger roads. We kept expecting people to show up on our tail, but it wasn't till we were heading back to the interstate that we found a couple e28s in front of us. We then pulled into a gas station where most of the group was. Nice! We all take off for the Resort/Casino where we are booked. I don't think any of us finished the "route" that day, but the first half was pretty dang awesome. WV is just beautiful.
We get cleaned up and decide to eat at the "First Turn" restaurant. It's got an excellent view of the greyhound track, so we watch about 5 or 6 races and just yak and have some food. I pay cash for my dinner, and we're walking through the casino to our rooms when I realize that I'm broke. I had reached into my OTHER pocket for my big stash of cash, and it was gone. It was well over $200, and all of a sudden I remember the night before when I'm getting ready to roll around on the deck for the disabled car and I take the envelope with my cash in it and put it under the phone at the hotel. DOH!! We pray about it and call the night manager at the hotel. She says she'll do her best and leave a note for the day manager and housekeeping. I go ahead and write it off as gone. Not that I have money falling out of my ass, but what can I do? We go to bed relatively early.
Monday:
We all get some breakfast. People are getting a late start as the casino was VERY alluring. After I eat, Sherman hands me his phone, and it's the hotel manager from TN. She says that they found the envelope right where I left it, and all of the money was in there! $270!! Wow, man. Prayers are answered. Bill and Michelle are breaking off today and headed back to that exit, so they agree to pick up the cash. Matter of fact, they just write me a check for the total amount and agree to just keep the cash! I love these guys! We say goodbye, a fills up the diff in the 533i, and we all get going. There are only 9 vehicles left for the jaunt to our final destination. We take off and have to ride through some towns. We're keeping together pretty well, and even look so awesome that we cause a 3 car accident. oops. Long story, but the cars should have been looking at what the hell they were doing. Today, I'm navigating pretty well. We get to our halfway stop, have some food, and the sky starts getting dark. I check the radar, and we have a line of red approaching. It's gonna be a boomer. It's gonna shit potatoes. Pick your aphorism, but it's not gonna be nice. Everyone else is pretty cool about it, but I'm dreading it. My car is so stiff it handles like freaking garbage in the rain. I have yet to learn how to set it up to run "right" in the rain. It's gonna be slow going for me if it rains hard/the roads are wet. I also was having trouble with my wipers again. Last year, the passenger wiper got caught on the driver's wiper and broke the mechanism. I got a new one from a board member, but somehow it was broken IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT. I JB welded the new one, and I had wipers again! Yesss! Then, as I used the wipers, the passenger one was ummm slipping a bit, and threatening to get tied up in the driver's one again, so I went ahead and pulled the wiper. turns out the splines on the actual wiper arm are trashed. Now why didn't I see that??
anyway, we take off, and everyone promptly leaves me in the dust. I have the bike and the 533i behind me. I'm taking it super easy when it's raining/wet, and they keep up just fine. Then when it's dry, I get my twisty on, and leave them. This goes off and on all afternoon. We finally climb the mountain to our hotel stop and we have the place literally all to ourselves. The canadians got condos, and Sherman and I were sharing a room in a building all by ourselves. Hilarious. We clean up and go over to the condos to hang out and eat. Just before dinner, the sun is still up, and it's dried out some. I hand the keys to Sia, and he goes up and down the mountain in RECORD time. He says the car has got "potential". I take that as saying that I still have a LOT of work to be done. And I do. Billy dazzles again, and we eat well. We BS, drink, eat, sit in the hot tub, bench race, etc. A great time. I say goodnight and goodbye to everyone and almost promise to be out next year. Aaron is gracious and says that I am more than welcome and gives me a few hints about ideas for next year.
Tuesday:
I take off at 0630, and have about 100 miles of twisties ALL TO MYSELF to get out of BFE, WV. It's great. I take some of my favorite roads on the way back and get back just in time to hang out with the wife and kids.
~1400 miles
no car problems
no bottoming out/scraping/rubbing despite some wicked elevation changes, turns, rough roads, etc.
BBK on vacuum boost was perfect
I feel more confident behind the wheel of my own car
... and everyone seemed to get a kick out of my car.
The perfect vacation.
That's one hell of a write up! If you don't mind, it would be great to use it for the RTT12 photo essay we will be putting together in the coming months.
I dropped KillerPM off at about 8:00 pm last night and just rolled out of bed shortly after noon today.....
The route (son of a hit a home run), overall planning (hats off to Adrian aka "Mr Wucky") including the accommodations, taco truck and hospitality suite at Vintage, bbq to raise money for the high school wrestling team in Tazwell and most importantly the cars, drivers and participants made RTT12 the most successful and memorable event to date.
And an RTT first, a motorcycle made it for the entire tour. Not just any motorcycle, but a GS......sweet......
More to come later..........
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Mark in Toronto
- Posts: 2442
- Joined: Feb 14, 2008 7:28 PM
- Location: Toronto
.....And I forgot to mention the importance of rolling the twisties on a full stomach. Well, Cousin Billy's 535 IS Gourmet Chuck Wagon took eating on the road to a whole new level. As Adam noted, nothing like shrimp salad served on a trailer in the parking lot of a Hampton Inn to put a smile on your face. More later......
After much needed rest getting home last night, I like to thanks all the participants that join us for a good time at RTT. 2012 RTT was a success in many ways as others described their experience in previous posts. This year was very unique in many ways, there was more twisties (almost all day long), the best and interesting hotels / casino along the way and the top of the mountain ski lodge (1500 M, 4920 Ft above the sea level) that was just awesome. I can’t wait for the next year event already.
Additional thanks to Paul (moosehead) for sending parts over night for Bill’s car and Adam, Andy, Rodney, Aaron, Sherman to make thing happened in parking lot and came to Bill’s aide, this is RTT at it’s best, thank you guys again.
More to come!
Additional thanks to Paul (moosehead) for sending parts over night for Bill’s car and Adam, Andy, Rodney, Aaron, Sherman to make thing happened in parking lot and came to Bill’s aide, this is RTT at it’s best, thank you guys again.
More to come!
Last edited by B7Turbo on Jun 01, 2012 9:45 PM, edited 1 time in total.
I knew Bill Langford did some cooking, but I had no clue of the depth of his talent. Healthy stuff ,sauces, vegies chicken salad and spices simmered in who knows what with a little red wine. For a dozen guys, Two Dinners and breakfast. Holy Cow!, what food!
As for the UCA Bushing. adventure and Alex' brake line Thank you, Paul for the timely effort to make an uber arm with your bushing. I'm quite impressed with the ease of installation. BTW. And getting it within range from C'ville . on Sunday evening. Things were just getting going and Al rides in with his Beemer fixed !. Great time, great people,. great cars.
As for the UCA Bushing. adventure and Alex' brake line Thank you, Paul for the timely effort to make an uber arm with your bushing. I'm quite impressed with the ease of installation. BTW. And getting it within range from C'ville . on Sunday evening. Things were just getting going and Al rides in with his Beemer fixed !. Great time, great people,. great cars.
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adrian in florida
- Posts: 2344
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Made it in yesterday evening. Man what a time!. The roads were epic. The people were great. Going throught W.V. on day two was awesome. Miles and miles with no other vehicles.
The route covered everthing in terms of driving conditions. Elevation changes, mountain driving and dont forget the hollar.
Aaron, great job on the route!.
Its almost hard to put into words. When I think of how we moved those cars in a playfull way on day four it just makes me grin. We really did find some of the best driving roads in the country!
Special thanks to all the folks who got Billys car back on the road. Big props to MooseHead . Sherman and and Hunter, I really appreciate you guys hanging with us and diagnosing the issue. Thanks to Adam, Andy and and all who banged the drum to get the car back on the road In time for the run to the casino. It was great to meet ALI, Bill and Michelle,Adam, Hunter and lets not forget George and Skip. I think George is still at the Casino.
I cant say I have ever had a better time hanging with good people and doing something both fun and challenging as RTT.
I feel like we really accomplished something. The driving was very,very.very good. The accomodations were fantastic. Just a truly fun and enjoyable experience. I know we did something 99.9 percent of America doesnt even think about.
Mark and Sia, thanks for letting me drive your cars even after I hit a rock!! More on Sias car later.
Billy thanks for stocking the chuck wagon and tutoring me on how to maintain food in a cooler for days. That car was full of food. The first time we stopped a bag of rolls fell out of the door when I opened it
Special thanks to the Canadians for having no natural enemies and bringing true talent and a sense of humor to almost every challenge...You guys are the best!
This year was a fantastic experience.!!!!!!!!!!
The route covered everthing in terms of driving conditions. Elevation changes, mountain driving and dont forget the hollar.
Aaron, great job on the route!.
Its almost hard to put into words. When I think of how we moved those cars in a playfull way on day four it just makes me grin. We really did find some of the best driving roads in the country!
Special thanks to all the folks who got Billys car back on the road. Big props to MooseHead . Sherman and and Hunter, I really appreciate you guys hanging with us and diagnosing the issue. Thanks to Adam, Andy and and all who banged the drum to get the car back on the road In time for the run to the casino. It was great to meet ALI, Bill and Michelle,Adam, Hunter and lets not forget George and Skip. I think George is still at the Casino.
I cant say I have ever had a better time hanging with good people and doing something both fun and challenging as RTT.
I feel like we really accomplished something. The driving was very,very.very good. The accomodations were fantastic. Just a truly fun and enjoyable experience. I know we did something 99.9 percent of America doesnt even think about.
Mark and Sia, thanks for letting me drive your cars even after I hit a rock!! More on Sias car later.
Billy thanks for stocking the chuck wagon and tutoring me on how to maintain food in a cooler for days. That car was full of food. The first time we stopped a bag of rolls fell out of the door when I opened it
Special thanks to the Canadians for having no natural enemies and bringing true talent and a sense of humor to almost every challenge...You guys are the best!
This year was a fantastic experience.!!!!!!!!!!
Assuming Sherman made it safely from TN back to TX, we can officially close the book on the third safe and successful RTT. Well done guys. It was a truly awesome experience from start to finish.
From the flat Piedmont of North Carolina we rolled into Virginia, Tennessee, and even a brief clip of southeasternmost Kentucky. But the true star of the show was the roads of West Virginia.
Words do not do justice to the variety of terrain, road size, inclines (13%), declines (16%), switchbacks, esses, double-esses, hairpins, half-hairpins, technical roads, fast roads, roads where the posted speed limits were laughably uttainable... You can find all that, an incredibly cheap hot meal, extremely friendly people, and gas in about two hours. West Virginia, especially its almost indescribably poor and hardscrabble SW corner, has numerous routes like this. Whatever image you might have in your head, you just don't know until you've driven through some places like Panther Creek, Stattler Mountain (listed pop. 19), or McDowell County, WV. You should.
Other states had awesome surprises. Bristol, TN has incredible farm road driving literally 5 minutes from the Hampton Inn. And Virginia has done a good job paving some of its better driving roads in its extreme SW corner, particularly having paved 91 into Saltville to allow better access to 80. All in all, I would put the RTT '12 route up against any drive out there.
As good as the driving and the places driven by and through happened to be, it was the people that made RTT '12 so friggin' great from start to finish. By the end I was seriously entertaining Sia's frequent question about extending our stay. Everyone and everything was just about perfect. I hope to see everyone (and more) next year when RTT rolls again.
If you like driving these cars, talking about these cars, driving them some more, and hanging out at a few cool places in between -- then RTT might be for you.
From the flat Piedmont of North Carolina we rolled into Virginia, Tennessee, and even a brief clip of southeasternmost Kentucky. But the true star of the show was the roads of West Virginia.
Words do not do justice to the variety of terrain, road size, inclines (13%), declines (16%), switchbacks, esses, double-esses, hairpins, half-hairpins, technical roads, fast roads, roads where the posted speed limits were laughably uttainable... You can find all that, an incredibly cheap hot meal, extremely friendly people, and gas in about two hours. West Virginia, especially its almost indescribably poor and hardscrabble SW corner, has numerous routes like this. Whatever image you might have in your head, you just don't know until you've driven through some places like Panther Creek, Stattler Mountain (listed pop. 19), or McDowell County, WV. You should.
Other states had awesome surprises. Bristol, TN has incredible farm road driving literally 5 minutes from the Hampton Inn. And Virginia has done a good job paving some of its better driving roads in its extreme SW corner, particularly having paved 91 into Saltville to allow better access to 80. All in all, I would put the RTT '12 route up against any drive out there.
As good as the driving and the places driven by and through happened to be, it was the people that made RTT '12 so friggin' great from start to finish. By the end I was seriously entertaining Sia's frequent question about extending our stay. Everyone and everything was just about perfect. I hope to see everyone (and more) next year when RTT rolls again.
If you like driving these cars, talking about these cars, driving them some more, and hanging out at a few cool places in between -- then RTT might be for you.
http://contour.com/stories/rtt-2012
Here is a first video of me riding shotgun in Sia's car with A in the back. Toward the end, we take on the car containing Mr. Lucky. Legend has it, none have survived when challenging Mr Lucky...we did.
Here is a first video of me riding shotgun in Sia's car with A in the back. Toward the end, we take on the car containing Mr. Lucky. Legend has it, none have survived when challenging Mr Lucky...we did.
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Tim in N FL
- Posts: 7392
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: North Central Florida, USA
- Contact:
Hey guys...really, really, really missed being part of RTT2012. So very glad to hear that it went off with very little drama this year. What?! No WV State Police hounding you in the Hampton Inn parking lot about "open containers"? No melting wheel bearings or brake components? No offroad excursions into the hinterlands thanks to GPS brain flatulence? Holy shite...a BMW G/S bike made the trip too? Awesome! So, when did Sia build an s54-powered Euro e28? This has to be the ONLY e28 with a big red "easy botton," right? Who's that couple with the s50-powered S/C'ed e28? It seems that I missed some good meals too. Mr. Lucky (aka Uncle Billy?) has stepped it up a notch this year. So, I really look forward to participating in RTT2013. Whatever the route may be, I'm really hoping to make it back to beautiful West Virginia. Look forward to photos and more videos.
Tim
Tim
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cvillebimmer
- Posts: 2043
- Joined: May 29, 2008 2:25 PM
- Location: Charlottesville, VA